Have never done business with MSO but you should have taken the rod back to them. My guess is they would have replaced it on the spot and dealt with Orvis.

many on this board gone on and on about the customer service level of small shops, lifetime warranties, etc. Yours is the exact case where the local shop would replace a brand new rod with this type of defect, no questions asked.

Posted on: 2012/4/16 11:26

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"You might be a big fish, in a little pond. Doesn't mean you've won, cause a long may come, a bigger one."

Yes I thought about taking it back to MSO but they were not open on Monday and as Homer Simson put it "I'm mad now" Also they only had one Clearwater II which is what I purchased. I don't think they would upgrade me to a newer rod but I could be wrong. They may well have refunded me then I would have no rod. So now I get to give them the benefit of the doubt. We'll see how it all ends though.

The store would have probably sent it out for you free of charge. I broke my 8wt clearwater a year or 2 ago and had excellent service. Within a week my rod was back at the shop waiting for me. They also gave me a loaner rod for my last day of the trip i was there.

I know your not happy about the $13 out of pocket cost. But, another way to look at it is your going to get a newer model for $13 more. You may end up with a heck of a bargain for $153. Depends on what rod they send you.Rich

fishiowa wrote:I know your not happy about the $13 out of pocket cost. But, another way to look at it is your going to get a newer model for $13 more. You may end up with a heck of a bargain for $153. Depends on what rod they send you.Rich

Yes I thought that to and I bet if I really persisted with Orvis, they would have done something about it. I'm not that kind of person though. I just want wrongs to be righted. The model upgrade "not in hand yet" is an added bonus that softens the blow of the whole situation.

I really liked the rod and if I thought i could have went back to MSO and simple exchanged it for a new one I would have waited until today to do anything. but Like i said this was the last of the Clearwater II she had. Im not sure they (MSO) have the leeway to do more than a simple exchange.

Also time and fuel. I only live a little over 11 miles from MSO so my gas sucking vehicle would use a gallon round trip to there's $4.

I'm not going to nickle and dime it. Its the principle of things that gets me. In a week this will all be in the past. Hopefully, I can share a positive Orvis customer service story with someone else facing an unknown with them.

Yep your exactly right. I called the shop where I bought it and they said I should have brought it to them and it would have been completely handled by them i.e. shipping it to Orvis.They also expressed to me that this should not have happened to an Orvis rod and it was likely a fluke (not the parasitic flat worm).

I'm glad I handled it though. My reason is this. I know this had absolutely nothing to do with the shop that sold it. It was a manufacturing issue. With me in charge of this operation, I can apply pressure where it's needed: otherwise I'm a bystander.

Also I really want to restate that this had nothing to do with what I did. If I had been careless, I would have been forthright about it. I have the highest integrity for myself and my expectations sometimes to a fault.

I may have come across as more of an ignoramus when I asked if this is normal or did I do something wrong. My query was to ensure that I didn't overlook something like a protective wrap that needed to be removed prior to use: a manufacturer specific possibility. My initial reaction was controlled outrage and uncertainty of the unknown. The unknown being how will this be rectified without draining my wallet anymore and being rodless (I made that word up) for an extend period of time. ect.ect.

With that said, I am sitting here waiting for a delivery from UPS from Orvis. I'll follow up when it gets here.

The same version just this years model "supposedly" I bought last years clearwater II which is blue. The replacement is this years clearwater which is green.

The upgrade is nice but its not as important as having a defect free rod. If they send the same thing back it will work for me at this point. I just want to catch fish today with my new cutthroat furled leader.